BSP 121 is an interview with AD (Bud) Craig, author of How Do You Feel?: An Interoceptive Moment with Your Neurobiological Self. Even though his book is quite technical he does a great job of describing his discoveries in a way that is accessible for listeners of all backgrounds.

The first episode of the Brain Science Podcast appeared on December 5, 2006, which makes it one of the longest running shows in any genre, not just science or medicine. I am especially proud of the fact that we have reached listeners in 219 different countries. BSP 114 is our 8th annual review episode and as a part of our year-end celebration all previous annual review episodes have been added to the FREE feed that also includes our most recent 25 episodes.

Announcements:

All Annual Review Episodes of the Brain Science Podcast are now free. Check the episode listing in your podcasting app to find the ones you may have missed.

The most recent 25 episodes of the Brain Science Podcast are always FREE. Older episodes and episode transcripts are available for $1 each. Premium subscribers have unlimited access to all 100+ episodes and transcripts.

Please share your feedback about this episode by sending email to brainsciencepodcast@gmail.com or going to the Brain Science Podcast Discussion Forum at http://brainscienceforum.com. You can also post to our fan pages on Facebook or Google+. I am looking for help with these community pages so please email me at brainsciencepodcast.com if you are interested.

In The Cognitive-Emotional Brain: From Interactions to Integration neuroscientist Luiz Pessoa argues that emotion and cognition are deeply intertwined throughout many levels of the brain. In a recent interview (BSP 106) Pessoa and I focused on recent discoveries about the amygdala and Thalamus that challenge traditional assumptions about what these structures do. The amygdala processes more than fear (and other negative stimuli) and the Thalamus is more than a mere relay station.

This a fairly technical discussion but Pessoa did a good job of making the material accessible to all listeners. The reason I think these concepts matter is that not only do they challenge overly simplistic notions of how the brain works, but they also challenge our tendency to see emotion and cognition as separate and often opposing processes.

Dr. Fernando Cervero of McGill University has been studying pain since the beginning of his career back in the 1960s. These decades have seen tremendous advances in our neuroscientific understanding of what causes different types of pain, as well as changing attitudes. Pain was once regarded as something that most people had to endure, but now most of us demand adequate pain relief, sometimes even to the point of not tolerating minor pain. Dr. Cevero's new book, Understanding Pain, provides an accessible account of both the history of pain research and a thoughtful consideration of the challenges facing the field.

The latest episode of the Brain Science Podcast (BSP 93) is an interview with Dr. Cervero. This is Part 1 of a planned two-part series.

Other Announcements:

New: Brain Science Podcast listener campaign to get Dr. Campbell on Triangulation, which is an interview show on Leo Laporte's TWiT network: click here for contact information or send an email to pitches@twit.tv with BRAIN SCIENCE PODCAST in the subject line.

The other strength of Archeology of Mind is its evolutionary approach. The primary emotional processes that Panksepp has spent his career studying have their origins in the ancient parts of the brain that are shared by all mammals. This contradicts longstanding assumptions in neuroscience, but it has important implications for both humans and other animals.

In Episode 91 of the Brain Science Podcast, Dr. Panksepp and I talked about some of the new information contained in Archaeology of Mind, with a particular focus on FEAR, which, contrary to what many researchers claim, does NOT begin in the amygdala, but begins much lower. We do talk briefly about the experimental evidence, but this was covered in more detail during Dr. Panksepp's previous appearance on the Brain Science Podcast in BSP 65.

Announcements:

The earliest episodes of the Brain Science Podcast are now disappearing from iTunes but they remain freely available here. They are also available within the Brain Science Podcast app for mobile devices. By the way, the mobile app has been updated, and I need users to post new reviews.

The Brain Science Podcast is supported by listener Donations. It also relies on your word of mouth, so don't forget to share it with others.

Next month's Brain Science Podcast will be our annual review episode. Meanwhile don't forget to check out my other podcast, Books and Ideas. The most recent episode is an interview with Emily Reese from Minnesota Classical Radio.

Join the Brain Science PodcastFan Page on Facebook, Google+, and share your thoughts in our Discussion Forum on Goodreads. Of course, you can also send me email at gincampbell at mac dot com.

To get show notes automatically and never miss an episode of the Brain Science Podcast sign up for the BSP Newsletter.

Episode 90 of the Brain Science Podcast is a discussion of Self Comes To Mind: Constructing the Conscious Brain, by Antonio Damasio. Damasio's book focuses on the answer to two key questions: How does the brain generate the Mind? and, How does the Brain generate Consciousness? His approach is unusual because many scientists and writers treat the Mind and Consciousness as identical. In contrast, Damasio argues that Mind precedes Consciousness. Listen to this podcast to learn how the Mind becomes Conscious.

The earliest episodes of the Brain Science Podcast are no longer available from iTunes but you can get them here or by buying the Brain Science Podcast app, which is available for iPhone, iPad, and Android.

Get my eBook, Are You Sure? The Unconscious Origins of Certainty, from Amazon.com for only $3.99.

Disgust is an universal emotion, but unlike emotions like fear and anger, disgust must be learned. This is the main conclusion of Dr. Rachel Herz's latest book, That's Disgusting: Unraveling the Mysteries of Repulsion. In a recent interview (BSP 86), Dr. Herz told me why she spent the last several years studying this rather unusual subject. We also discussed what the study of disgust can tell us about how our brains process emotion.

On May 11, 2011 I gave a talk entitled "Why Neuroscience Matters" at the London Skeptics in the Pub. Episode 42 of Books and Ideas is an edited version of that talk, including the lively Q and A with the audience.

The latest episode of the Brain Science Podcast(BSP 71) is our 4th annual review episode. As usual, I review highlights from this year's interviews, but this year I added a new feature: my personal reflections on how the Brain Science Podcast has impacted my life. This episode also contains a special announcement for UK listeners.

In past episodes I have discussed the role of unconscious decision-making. On Being Certain: Believing You Are Right Even When You're Not ,by Robert Burton, MD, takes this topic to a new level. First, Dr. Burton discusses the evidence that the "feeling of knowing" arises from parts of our brain that we can neither access or control. Then he discusses the implications of this finding, including the fact that it challenges long-held assumptions about the possibility of purely rational thought.

Dr. Gigerenzer argues that unconscious decision-making or intuition is actually based on the use of heuristics (rules of thumb) that can be explored, and even brought into awareness. In this episode, I discuss his basic arguments with an emphasis on the differences between intuitive reasoning and formal logic. Then we explore some examples including the application of these ideas to more controversial areas like morality and social instincts.

Although the first full episode of the Brain Science Podcast appeared on December 15, 2006, I went live with an introductory podcast around December 1, 2006. (I have deleted episode 0 from the feed). At any rate, I decided it was time to look back over the first six months and reflect on some of the topics we have covered.

This is one of the shorter episodes, but I hope it will bring some of the key ideas back to mind (and encourage new listeners to go back and get the older episodes). It will also give you a glimpse of what we will be discussing in the next few months.